Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) Shares Purchased by Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB

Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB lifted its stake in Equity Residential (NYSE:EQR) by 143.6% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 933 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock after purchasing an additional 550 shares during the quarter. Wilmington Savings Fund Society FSB’s holdings in Equity Residential were worth $67,000 as of its most recent filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission.

A number of other hedge funds and other institutional investors have also modified their holdings of the stock. Conning Inc. acquired a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the 4th quarter valued at $780,000. Golden State Wealth Management LLC acquired a new position in shares of Equity Residential in the 4th quarter valued at $59,000. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd boosted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 6.3% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui DS Asset Management Company Ltd now owns 112,932 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $8,104,000 after purchasing an additional 6,651 shares during the period. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. boosted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 20.8% in the 4th quarter. Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Group Inc. now owns 2,011,368 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $144,336,000 after purchasing an additional 345,988 shares during the period. Finally, Vanderbilt University boosted its position in shares of Equity Residential by 2.5% in the 4th quarter. Vanderbilt University now owns 38,098 shares of the real estate investment trust’s stock valued at $2,734,000 after purchasing an additional 914 shares during the period. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 92.68% of the company’s stock.

Equity Residential Stock Up 0.8 %

EQR opened at $71.56 on Friday. Equity Residential has a fifty-two week low of $58.10 and a fifty-two week high of $78.83. The business has a 50-day moving average of $70.72 and a 200-day moving average of $72.74. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.72, a current ratio of 0.36 and a quick ratio of 0.13. The company has a market capitalization of $27.15 billion, a PE ratio of 26.31, a price-to-earnings-growth ratio of 4.49 and a beta of 0.93.

Equity Residential Dividend Announcement

The business also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Friday, January 17th. Investors of record on Thursday, January 2nd were paid a $0.675 dividend. This represents a $2.70 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 3.77%. The ex-dividend date was Thursday, January 2nd. Equity Residential’s payout ratio is 99.26%.

Analysts Set New Price Targets

A number of equities analysts recently weighed in on EQR shares. Evercore ISI increased their price target on Equity Residential from $74.00 to $76.00 and gave the company an “in-line” rating in a research report on Monday. Mizuho decreased their price objective on Equity Residential from $78.00 to $74.00 and set a “neutral” rating for the company in a research report on Monday, January 6th. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price objective on Equity Residential from $77.00 to $75.00 and set an “equal weight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Royal Bank of Canada decreased their price objective on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “outperform” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, November 1st. Finally, Barclays decreased their price objective on Equity Residential from $83.00 to $79.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a research report on Friday, January 24th. Eleven analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating and nine have assigned a buy rating to the company’s stock. According to data from MarketBeat.com, the company currently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average target price of $78.36.

Insider Activity at Equity Residential

In related news, COO Michael L. Manelis sold 9,487 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The stock was sold at an average price of $72.07, for a total value of $683,728.09. Following the transaction, the chief operating officer now directly owns 26,781 shares of the company’s stock, valued at approximately $1,930,106.67. This trade represents a 26.16 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link. Also, CAO Ian Kaufman sold 642 shares of the firm’s stock in a transaction that occurred on Thursday, February 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $72.06, for a total value of $46,262.52. Following the completion of the transaction, the chief accounting officer now directly owns 25,539 shares in the company, valued at $1,840,340.34. The trade was a 2.45 % decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. In the last ninety days, insiders have sold 19,763 shares of company stock valued at $1,424,217. Corporate insiders own 1.00% of the company’s stock.

About Equity Residential

Equity Residential is committed to creating communities where people thrive. The Company, a member of the S&P 500, is focused on the acquisition, development and management of residential properties located in and around dynamic cities that attract affluent long-term renters. Equity Residential owns or has investments in 305 properties consisting of 80,683 apartment units, with an established presence in Boston, New York, Washington, DC, Seattle, San Francisco and Southern California, and an expanding presence in Denver, Atlanta, Dallas/Ft.